Broughton High School sets scene for performance pupils

The performance coach at Broughton High School believes its unique environment will help his footballers flourish.

The Edinburgh establishment is home to a Scottish FA Performance School where Greg Miller is coach.

“This is an environment where the players are not subject to the pressure of being selected into a team each week,” he said.

“The Performance School programme is a fantastic project which I’m sure will see a new generation of technically and mentally able players come through.”

More than £15m has been committed over the next four years by the Scottish FA, with more than 100 of the country’s most promising male and female footballers benefiting from technical, tactical and lifestyle development by specially appointed Scottish FA coaches.

Greg – who is a former J-League manager and head of youth at Stirling Albion – said the first few weeks of term were about instilling in the players a culture of performance.

“I try to relate the experience to myself,” added Greg. “What would I have liked when I was 12 to make me a better footballer?

“Here the players have four years to improve themselves with no pressure.

“They are receiving six and a half hours of coaching every week and are learning everything which is required to be a professional footballer.”

Broughton High School was used as a pilot school in January as Scottish FA performance staff studied and developed the Performance School system.

Now there are seven schools in place across the country.

Each school has a commitment to making football part of the daily curriculum, designed to double the number of sessions for pupils and help them strive for the gold standard of 10,000 hours of practice.

Scottish FA performance director Mark Wotte has said he would like to see players who have come through this system competing in the FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar.